I own two Mobile Fidelity “MoFi” records, the above Weezer “blue album”, released in 2012 and a 1980 copy of Abbey Road by the Beatles. I inherited the Abbey Road LP from a family collection and bought the Weezer album at a local store here in Nashville a few years ago.
MoFi records are expensive when released and I always hesitate to buy them. When it comes to music buying, I’ve historically been more of a quantity over quality guy. I’m fine passing up one expensive original pressing record if it means I can buy a stack of other records instead. I’ve sold first pressings out of collections I’ve bought and kept my regular pressing to play without any regrets.
But the older I get, and the more curated my record collection becomes, I’m starting to think I might prefer a higher quality record pressing like what MoFi offers.
To me, MoFi records have a distinct quietness when listening. I find myself always turning my MoFi records up louder than regular vinyl releases. But when turning up the volume, the LP still plays quietly, without any distortion or background noise common in less expensive pressings.
I also like that the MoFi records are usually limited edition. My Weezer LP is gold stamped #003651 on the back of the jacket. The packaging is always a nice gatefold jacket and the vinyl is stored in a heavy duty inner liner.
I stumbled on the below video from The Vinyl Attack and thought he did a great job explaining the MoFi pressing process and how impressed he was with their packaging and how the records sound:
But what really got me thinking about MoFi and other audiophile pressings was this video from The ‘In’ Groove who spent $40,000 buying a collection of audiophile records from a customer of his. What surprised me most, outside of just seeing all those records stacked in one room, was the owner had probably paid around $20,000 when building this collection throughout the years and he doubled his investment by selling it back to store he originally bought the records from at $40,000. And of course we know The In Groove will have no problem selling these and making money on his $40,000 investment.
I began buying records in the late 90s because they were actually cheaper to buy than CDs. I could find a Modest Mouse LP in Tower Records for $9.99 while the CD of the same album was $18. Used record stores were selling LPs at $3.99 and there would be stacks of albums by The Clash, Elvis Costello, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, and many other musical staples.
Now, new LPs cost close to $30, often more, and I have at times bought a CD copy for $10 rather than pay a high price for a new album that I’m not sure I’ll enjoy enough at the price point. Or I’ll wait until I find a used copy.
So if I’ve always been cheap when it comes to buying music, why the desire to buy expensive MoFi or audiophile pressing LPs? First, let me point out that most of the MoFi collection is a bit too classic rock for my taste. I don’t have any interest in owning a Stevie Ray Vaughn album whether it cost $1 or $125. We all have artists we don’t enjoy and Stevie Ray is one of mine. Don’t judge me and I won’t judge you.
However, the jazz LPs released by MoFi are very tempting, especially the Miles Davis releases. It’s hard to find used Miles records in great listening condition so I have a lot of his CDs. I still pick up the LPs when I can, but I would be tempted to buy the MoFi version of his records just for the perceived upgrade in sound quality, especially Miles in the Sky and In A Silent Way.
Overall, I find myself drawn to the updated jazz LPs being released by labels like Blue Note, especially their Tone Poet series. Today I bought two Acoustic Sounds reissues of John Coltrane’s Ballads and Clifford Brown’s Study in Brown. I can’t wait to hear how they sound.
Is this crazy? Most likely yes. But these audiophile reissues tend to hold their value so I’ll be able to listen to them for many years to come and then my kids can sell them for a better price than a beat up 1970s reissue of the same album that’s also sitting in my collection.
Maybe I’ll keep my eyes out for more MoFi releases as they are announced. They could be fun additions to my record collection.
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